Michael Quispe

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans

City: Lakewood State: CO

Age: 51.5 years old

Marital Status: Single

What I do for work:
System and Network Engineer

Places Ive called home and why I like where I am now:
Being an Army brat and then subsequently in the Air Force myself I have had the opportunity to live in quite a few places in the world, from the US to Panama to Great Britain.

Everyone living and running the mountains of Colorado knows how wonderful it is live here. I love living in this part of the country because for many years I have always wanted to live near the mountains.

When I started running and what got me started:
I was introduced to running by my father who took me out, kicking and screaming (me, not my father :-) It really didn't start becoming interesting or fun until I won second place in my age group during my first race. After that I was hooked and have since enjoyed running.

What does running mean to me:
Running brings a sense of peace and well being that no other sport has been able to do. Especially living in Colorado and running the front range and deeper mountain ranges never stops to create wonder and awe for what we have the fortune to have so close by.

In 1993 I stopped running due to the advancement of my career. What I thought would be a year or two layoff turned into a twelve (12) year layoff. I moved from Pennsylvania to Colorado in 2004 and began running again in April of 2005. So far it has been an adventure and I am loving every minute of it. Although I will never see another PR at these distances, I have set new goals as a masters age group competitor.

What I like about trail/mountain running:
It doesn't matter how many times you run a particular trail. It is always and will forever be changing. Trail and mountain running requires mental clarity and attention to conditions or serious injury can occur. I like the technical challenges that this type of running requires.

Favorite running trail and why:
I am still learning and running new trails almost every week so the answer to this question will probably change a few times. As of yet, I enjoy the trails up at Mount Falcon west of Denver. Although it doesn't quite get up to 8000' it is a constant grind all the way to the top with very very little relief.

Favorite trail/mountain race and why:
Of the few trail races I've run, my favorite at this time is the Goldenleaf Classic that follows the Government trail from Snowmass Village to Aspen. I love the fact that the first quarter of the race is a very challenging uphill where the majority of racers succumb to the difficulties of running uphill.

Best running experience:
Still under review at this time ;)

Worst running experience:
Ditto

Running related bathroom stop story:
Before the start of a five mile race I kind of heard the call of nature beaconing me to use the porta-potty but having so few I decided to just stick it out and go after the completion of the race. I felt fine throughout most of the race until the call was becoming almost deafening at about the 4 mile marker. We were passing through a residential area and with each passing step I was seriously contemplating asking to use someone's bathroom. Being way too shy at the time I chickened out and began to pray a litany of not experiencing a Greta Waitz type "bathroom" problem. Fortunately I was able to finish the race without incident but was also able to finish in an very quick final mile. The bad part was that after the race there was still no luck with finding an unoccupied porta-potty so I ended up running home which was another mile or so. Talk about relief!

Something non running related that no one would guess about me:
I am also a herpetologist (study reptiles and amphibians).